Heat exchangers such as evaporators can be used in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. A typical evaporator used in the HVAC modules of automotive air conditioning systems includes a core formed by pairs of embossed plates joined together to create a plurality of flow tubes for the refrigerant tubes in the interior of the core. Fins are disposed between the refrigerant flow tubes to permit ambient air to flow across the exterior of the tubes and exchange thermal energy with the refrigerant. The tubes are in fluid communication with a pair of spaced tanks formed out of the plates themselves comprising a plurality of cups punched at two ends of plates. Since the process of stacking plates and fins in the construction of the evaporator core is a laminating process, these evaporators are referred to as the laminated type of evaporators.
Generally, the evaporator core is placed in an HVAC module of the air conditioning system directly at the diffuser section of the HVAC module. Often, the incoming airflow must turn through a sharp angle in order to enter the air passages between the plate tubes of the evaporator. Associated with the sharp bending of the flow path lines is a pressure drop penalty.